Improvement in automatic gate



wUivrrnn STATES- PATENT Orsini-i..

BENJAMIN F. DICKEY, OF MARSHALL, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMATIC GATE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 92,430, dated July 13, 1869.

To all 'whom it muy concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. DICKEY, ot' the city of Marshall, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement i-n Automatic Gates; and I do hereby declare that the. following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a perspective view. Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe gate-shifting device, and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same.

Similarletters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.

My invention applies to that class of gates which are caused to open and shut by the wheels of a vehicle or the runners of a sleigh passing over cranked levers arranged in the approach and departure line, and relates more especially to an improved mode ot' hinging the gate and changing its center of gravity, so that it may open and shut in a more reliable manner and with less travel ot the wheel-irons than heretofore; and the better to enable others skilled in this art to avail themselves of my improvement, I will proceed to describe it.

A A represent the posts of a gateway, and

B is the gate, which may be made of any desirable style or manner ot' construction.

Two of the operating wheel-levers are exhibited at D, being substantially the same as those ordinarily used for this purpose, excepting in this, that as my shifting-hinge device does not require as much longitudinal movement of the connecting-rods U the cranked levers may be made shorter than usual, or, in other words, may have less throw, which is a great advantage generally, and specially in the case of certain descriptions of sleighs the bodies of which hang low.

As my mode of hanging the wheel-irons7 and jointin g the rods to them (said rods being protected in an underground casing) is substantially similar to the usual way, which is well understood by all persons conversant with automatic gates, I do not deem itne'cessary to describe or illustrate the details. I will say here, however, that I find it the most economical and durable to inclose the rods in gas-piping.

My improved plan for causing the gate to open and shut consists partly in the arrangement ofthe hinge-pivots tending to shut the gate and partly in giving such vibratory'motion to the lower hinge-pivot as will first unlatch the gate by elevating the swinging end, and then by throwing the gate over, so as to change its center of gravity in an opposite direction, cause it to open, it being understood that my invention applies to double gates also." I hinge the gate (so that when shut it will stand in a true vertical line) by two common hinge-straps, d d', bolted to the face of the gate, the pivot of the upper strap being inserted in the eye e of a bolt screwed or driven into the side ofthe post, as in the common way; but the pivot of the lower hinge-strap rests in a step capable of a certain limited vibratory motion, to be presently described. One or both ot' the pivot lends of the straps projecting beyond the gate should be so bentlaterally that when the gate is shut the lower pivot will stand in the openingdirection abouttwo inches (or any other required distance, to be determined by the gravity of the gate) from a vertical linc, c', drawn through the upper pivot, as shown by the dotted lines in the plan, Fig. 2, and in the vertical lines in Fig. 3.

I operate the lower hinge-pivot by means of what Iterxn a vibratin g step.77 (Indicated at s and in enlarged detail in Fgs.2 and 3, which last figure is exhibited from apoint facing the hinge side of the post- This device consists ot' a short vertical rocking shaft, E, the end journals of which are hung in any convenient and suitable bearings at the foot of the gatepost. The rock-shaft is furnished at or about its center with a projecting horizontal arm or plate, F, in which a step-bearing, s, is formed at or about the point s to receive the pivot ot' the lower hin ge-strap.

I usually connect the ends oi' the rods C to the plate F by looping them on a stud, m, uuderneath, and secure them in place by the nut; but they may be jointed to a separate arm, as in Fig. 1, or simply hooked to the step-plate itself.

zrepresents a staple-iron projecting below the bottom rail of the gate, and j j are two fulcrnm-studs secured in the ground, to be further described hereinafter.

I will now proceed to describe the action of my improvement in opening and shutting the gate, omitting the modus operandi of the wheelirons, latching devices, and supplementary f fi latching-posts, which are already well understood. l l p i As before explained, the gate, when shut, is

v hinged to stand in true horizontal and vertical lines; but the lower hinge-pivot is set out on thev vibrating step-plate about two inches out of plumb with the top hinge. When, therefore, the openin g wheel-iron is depressed so as to push or pull on one of the conneetingrods G, as the case may be, the irst immediate et'- fect as the lower hinge-pivot is carried roundI in its seat on the vibrating plate is to carry the foot of the gate away from ythe post, and soelevateand unlatchtheoppositeend. When the lower pivot has completed its circular-arc travel the two pivots will stand in opposite relative positions, and the gate will open because :its center of gravity has been so shifted that the tendency to open will now be equal to the tendency to shut before the movement of thelowerhinge-pivot,justdescribed,tookplaee. e:It will be readily seen that, the gate being open, when the shutting-wheel lever is depressed the lower hinge-pivot will be restored to its first position, and the gate will shut for the reason previously given. In positions exposed to high prevailing winds l propose to` as will bring the full eect of gravity and the impetus thus obtained into combination.

The advantages of my arrangement for the purpose over others consist as follows: My devices for changing the center of gravity are more cheap, compact, and reliable, for the rock-shaft and step are cast in one piece in malleable cast-iron, and may be hung to the post nearly as readily as an eyebolt, while the extent of travel in the shifting device to produce an effective chan ge is very much less as compared with other arrangements; and, finally, a gate hung on my plan is a reliable selfshutting gate independently of' automatic connections, which, as is well known, are sometimes inoperative in winter.

I do not claim wheel-irons connected vby rods to a device for shifting the center of gravity in a gate; but

What I claim as my invention, andv desire to secure by Letters Patent, is this- The arrangement and combination of the rocking shaft and step-plate E F, lower hingepivot strap, d', and upper stationary center hinge, d e, with a gate, B, and hanging post A, and with the connecting-rods O- and wheelirons D, the several parts being operated in connection with or Without the staple-iron i and studs j, and arranged relatively with each other and with the gate and post, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

BENJAMIN F. DIGKEY. 

